Our National Deaf Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (NDCAMHS) works with children and young people aged 0-18 who have a severe to profound hearing loss, have deaf parents or have BSL (British Sign Language) as a first language and who also experience emotional and/or behavioural issues consistent with a Children’s Global Assessment Scale [CGAS] rating of 50 or less. We work to improve the mental health of these children and young people through supporting them and their families.

From the service experience to date we note that for a variety of reasons the children, young people and families who receive a service from NDCAMHS will be with the service for a longer period of time than young people accessing local CAMH Services.

It is known that deaf children are more likely to experience mental health issues, (anywhere between 30% and 50% more likely). Communication is a huge issue for deaf families, there is also recognition that, for a variety of reasons, the developmental pathways for deaf children differ from their hearing counterparts. This needs to be properly considered for intervention to be effective. NDCAMHS was established within this context as a specialised response to the particular needs of deaf children, young people and families.

The Deaf Service represents the Northern Arm of the National Deaf CAMHS. The service is commissioned by the NHS England and operates across the North of England.

Referrals

Referrals can come from any professional working with the child, young person and family. This includes schools, mainstream and deaf, teachers of the deaf, CAMHS, GPs, paediatricians and other arms of the NDCAMHS and Children’s Services.

Get in touch

NDCAMHS is based at Lime Trees and can be contacted in the following ways: